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How 100 Million Americans Are Becoming More Conscious

Today we are releasing our whitepaper The Explosion of Conscious Media, created in partnership with Gaiam TV, the premier aggregator of Conscious Media content. The report defines Conscious Media and details the cultural shifts driving the growth in this dynamic media sector.

So What Is Conscious Media, Anyway?

Conscious Media content uses alternative modes of thinking -- integrating spiritual, experiential and contemplative ideas with methodologies drawn from modern science -- to explore and understand the human condition and ways in which individuals can align their spiritual, emotional and physical beings to live in harmony with themselves, others and the planet. It often merges scientific concepts with spiritual concepts and Eastern thought with Western thought.

More broadly, Conscious Media is the type of content that inspires or creates an awakening or expands the spectrum of choices and possible answers to deeper concerns. Conscious Media stands in stark contrast to the kinds of media that have become prevalent in mass channels. It is not Honey Boo Boo or the Kardashians. It is not tabloid sensationalism. It is not the 24/7 news cycle.

Conscious Media titles you are probably familiar with include the 2006 bestseller by Rhoda Byrne, The Secret, Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. While those are bestsellers, you might also consider them quite niche. But Conscious Media is more mainstream than you might think. The 2010 blockbuster Avatar, with its themes of spirituality, nature and sustainability, is squarely in the Conscious Media space. As is last summer’s hit movie Prometheus and the Oscar contender Life of Pi.

In total, 100 million Americans are consuming Conscious Media each year. And that number is expected to grow.

What’s Driving This Growth in Conscious Media?

There are three main factors driving the explosion of Conscious Media:

1. Major economic, social and cultural macro factors, including the decline in traditional religion, eroding trust in institutions and the rise of yoga lifestyle.

2. Thirty years of established expertise and platform building by key players in the space. Oprah Winfrey has been instrumental in introducing Americans to the thinking of gurus and experts like Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson. Theses experts in turn, have done a phenomenal job of developing multi-platform media and communications platforms to engage their consumers and spread their message. 3. Technology. The advent of the Internet - but especially the emergence of YouTube and streaming media platforms like VOD, Netflix and Hulu - has created new opportunities for audience aggregation around topics in which major studios and content creators might not otherwise choose to invest.